what year diesels and motors were the best?

lowbudgetjunk · Nov 9, 2014

Re:

00 7.3 w/rebuilt auto transmission. 257k on the clock and motor doesn't miss a beat.

Eric Hagan......I mean Kel Lawrence

hondoman · Nov 9, 2014

I have an 04 6sp cummins with 365000 and it runs like a sewing machine no blowby no oil use and pulls like a freight train it will be buried between me and the are when I go hands down best diesel truck I have ever had!

DirtMonkey · Nov 10, 2014

I'm really biased towards the 5.9 Cummins engine, so I will focus on that. 2nd gens are great. I like em. Many people want the newest truck they can get, pushing you into a 3rd Gen. Of these, 2003-2007 5.9s are what you want to look at. Most people that have been around these motors a while, will all agree that the 03-04.5 is the biggest bang for the buck. Here's a few reasons why.

-The 03 and early 04 did NOT come with a cat! (the converter, not the *****

-Totally legal to run straight pipe.
-03 (& I think 04) you could get the NV5600 6 speed manual –this is the BEAST if you want a manual trans. (The NV4500 was the other option & after 2005.5, it was the weaker G56 trans)
-Phenomenal mileage.
-The 03 04.5 pistons have always been said to be better –Stronger design if concerned about piston meltdown. -If you are worried about that, you should probably be building a full-on, new engine anyway.

Many seek out these older models, but finding a good used truck that is 11 years old is getting harder… :dblthumb:

You are still free from EGR and DPF until after 2007 if you care...

kushKrawlin · Nov 10, 2014

2007 duramax classic .. Unreal the resale on them. Im not a fan of all the new stuff. I'm a fan of mine though. By far best truck Ive had !

tbacon38 · Nov 10, 2014

ibrokeit said:
Worst recommendation in this thread. They can make a ton of power, but they are plauged with problems and get terrible fuel mileage.

I have a 03 7.3 with 260k. Original auto trans. Wouldn't hesitate to drive it to Alaska tomorrow.

I have an 08 6.4 powerstroke and love it, Owned a 7.3 for 11 years and it did great, drove a couple Dodges before I bought mine and they didn't compare 5.9 and 6.7, I do have a lot done to my 6.4 to make it bulletproof but also did a lot to my 7.3 as well. 6.4 got a bad rep from dumbasses just putting the biggest tuner on them and not caring for it, all trucks have problems. I have had no issues and would drive mine anywhere but that's just my opinion. There all good trucks just depends on what all you want.

I like the Ford for the cab room and interior, and my 7.3 was a work horse for 11 years.
Buddy of mine has a 2014 Dodge DRW and we pulled 3 buggies to DTOR this past weekend and it did a great job 9MPG
My brother is on his second Duramax with the first being the 2013 Denali and now has an 08 and they are both a beast.

Just go drive all them and decide what all you want and how much you want to spend.

wont work · Nov 10, 2014

tbacon38 said:
dumbasses just putting the biggest tuner on them and not caring for it, all trucks have problems.

Just go drive all them and decide what all you want and how much you want to spend.

The above is the cause for alot of problems people have no matter brand.

I would go drive them all and see which you like. I did and was dead set on buying a new truck but went back to '10 dmax. Had an '05 before that and was going to have to spend some money on it so just decided to trade up instead. I have seen them all pull good and have seen them all broke down but like already stated you can almost say it was from abuse somewhere down the line. Now sometimes there is that instance where you have a lemon.

The-Boss · Nov 10, 2014

mckeddie said:
Hey definitely don't get the milage or have the power of a cummins, you don't get the transmission problems of the dodge

That's why get the cummins with a manual. Or you are correct, will need a auto from Suncoast.

Depends on what you are looking for and money you want to spend. I narrowed my search to a 04.5 to 05.5 dodge dually. This was the only time frame I could get a stock 325 HO 5.9 motor, nv5600 6 speed and floor shift Tcase combination. Not a Dodge fan but big fan of this drivetrain. Finding one lower mileage in black took a while for me. I run a Smarty Jr and it is happy as stock and does run like a sewing machine.

If i didn't tow as heavy I would probably went for a low mileage SRW 7.3 and left it stock just because I like the truck better and they are also very dependable.

If you bulletproof a 6.0 or 6.4 they are dependable even with moderate tuning and the autos do well with it.

Don't have much personal experience with the duramax and I never got the best feedback from longtime owner's I have talked to. Hasn't been many though.

tbacon38 · Nov 10, 2014

Don't buy a 9,000 pound truck to get good fuel mileage either. I like them all really just I just bought excatly what I wanted and I'm happy with it.

jp fan · Nov 10, 2014

Buy what feels good when you set in the seat its hard to like a truck when your seat hurts you

LightBnDr · Nov 10, 2014

billstoy said:
I'm looking for one to pull my rig. maybe hop up a little. I know there many to choose from. What do I look for?
What motors/years had the best reputation?

In my opinion, you cannot go wrong with an 03-06.5 dodge dually with a 5600 6spd 4wd floor shift mega cab. Though only a couple of these years offer what I listed above. I think they have the least amount to worry about with high mileage and least expensive piddly diesel issues.

My second choice is an LLY Dmax with an Allison. It's one of the only that I would put my wife in to drive cross country. Though they are not cheap and when they are they are absolutely ragged the Eff out.

Hey good luck

drkelly · Nov 10, 2014

I've only owned one diesel truck. It is an 01 Ram CTD with NV4500. It has 228,000 miles on it. It is 100% stock. It has never left me stranded. Below is the list of things I have had to replace other than normal maintenance items over the 8 years I have owned it:

- Clutch master/slave combo $220
- Fuel lift pump $400 (FASS)
- MAP sensor $80
- Water pump $40
- A/C compressor and system recharge $600

That is it. I know guys with 'hot rodded' trucks who have spent enough money on repairs to have bought another truck.

blacksheep10 · Nov 10, 2014

LightBnDr said:
In my opinion, you cannot go wrong with an 03-06.5 dodge dually with a 5600 6spd 4wd floor shift mega cab. Though only a couple of these years offer what I listed above. I think they have the least amount to worry about with high mileage and least expensive piddly diesel issues.

My second choice is an LLY Dmax with an Allison. It's one of the only that I would put my wife in to drive cross country. Though they are not cheap and when they are they are absolutely ragged the Eff out.

Hey good luck

to my knowlege you can't get a 5600 in a megacab, the mega came later and it was G56 time by then. The 5.9 mega is only a year or a half year window, right?
I had an 04 6 speed dually, wish I still did. ridiculous milage. Like stupid as long as I kept it under 2k rpm. Any over that and it went down by several mpg per 100 rpm it seemed.

The-Boss · Nov 10, 2014

blacksheep10 said:
to my knowlege you can't get a 5600 in a megacab, the mega came later and it was G56 time by then.

I know 05.5 was the last you could get the nv5600 before the G56 switch. Think they also went to electronic shift 4x4 then.

tallnate · Nov 10, 2014

I bought my LBZ Duramax 6 years ago and it's been nothing but reliable. Great power, great automatic, great stereo (bose), great seats, etc etc. I think the cummins / manual tranny setup is a good reliable truck but I just cant see it being any better than my lbz. And yes I drove and rode in my buddies 2003 5.9 6spd many times and to be honest I really wasn't that impressed with the performance. Why have a burger when you can have steak.. just saying

billstoy · Nov 12, 2014

what years did they each go to computerized. what years are mechanical? pumps and injectors ect . ?

blacksheep10 · Nov 13, 2014

If you want all mechanical and 400k without a blink, you're buying a 12 v cummins. Try to find a 98. If its a 98 with a 24valve, run away. That was the year they put a shitty half computer controlled pump on it.
If you aren't scared of reliable computers, 7.3 ford, 04.5-06.5 chevy both lly and lbz, and 03-06.5 cummins.

matth_85 · Nov 13, 2014

I have an LLM Duramax. It has the emissions and I would have bought a LBZ had I not found what I did. The emissions stuff sucks but the fuel mileage isn't that much worse, especially in a towing scenario than the LBZ. Pulled with 01TJ to Harlan and when we would stop for fuel he'd hold a couple gallons less than me.

I would look for a 06.5 up Duramax.

I was in the used truck business for 7 years and sold all types of trucks. I never had issues with the Duramax trucks. If you want a nice truck that will last a long time, there is no other option IMO. The Cummins is good, but not the best power IMO and the rest of the truck is pure ****. The Cummins has the low end torque as most "big truck" guys are used to but the Duramax has that pep I like towing at highway speed. Mine never bats an eye towing up 8-9% grades with two rigs behind it. Anything past a 7.3 in a Ford is ****. Unless you want a new one and they don't have enough time on them to give an accurate opinion.

clemsonjeep · Nov 13, 2014

matth_85 said:
The Cummins is good, but not the best power IMO and the rest of the truck is pure ****.

Same goes for a Chevy in my opinion. Haven't owned any Duramax trucks but I've driven Chevy 2500's as state vehicles for the last 9 years and they are junk...now I know ya'll will say they're state vehicles, but the majority of the interior components are the same as what you'd buy at the dealer. Rattles, shakes, plastic feeling, cheesy instrumentation, and worst of all...they're IFS basically gm cars with bigger tires and wheels. I remember looking at tie rod ends from a 2500 and realizing they're smaller than the same parts from a Tacoma...dumb.

matth_85 said:
Anything past a 7.3 in a Ford is ****.

This statement makes no sense. The trucks haven't changed...the motors have. What tbacon said below pretty much sums up why people have this opinion of Fords...

tbacon38 said:
got a bad rep from dumbasses just putting the biggest tuner on them and not caring for it, all trucks have problems.

The 6.0 is a great motor...untouched. If you want to hot rod the piss out of it then you're gonna have to build it or the emissions crap will screw you every time. Pretty sure it's the same on Duramax and Cummins. The 6.4 was an attempt at something that just didn't pan out. The concept is great...the follow through not so much for the end user. The new motors are just plain badass...but wayyyy out of my price range to pick one up at this point.

J/Cope79 · Nov 13, 2014

I have a 05 Dodge reg cab dually 4x4 with the nv5600 6spd and 3.73's.
It has 5" magnaflow turbo back exhaust, CAI, Smarty set to SW5 and a 62/65/14 turbo. I have owned it for nearly 5 yrs and have 175k on it with no major problems so far. That being said it could die tomorrow ... who knows ..
I get 14-22mpg depending on driving/towing etc. My only complaint with it is the weak front suspension/ Trac bar set up. Other than that its been a pretty good truck. I had a 03 2500 Dodge with a "built" 48RE that I absolutely hated. The only thing I miss about that truck is the fact that I only had to buy 4 tires instead of the 6 that I have to buy now....

uke: Thought about breaking down and putting 19.5's on it but I definitely don't like the price on that setup either... Just my feedback, for what its worth.

matth_85 · Nov 13, 2014

clemsonjeep said:
Same goes for a Chevy in my opinion. Haven't owned any Duramax trucks but I've driven Chevy 2500's as state vehicles for the last 9 years and they are junk...now I know ya'll will say they're state vehicles, but the majority of the interior components are the same as what you'd buy at the dealer. Rattles, shakes, plastic feeling, cheesy instrumentation, and worst of all...they're IFS basically gm cars with bigger tires and wheels. I remember looking at tie rod ends from a 2500 and realizing they're smaller than the same parts from a Tacoma...dumb.

This statement makes no sense. The trucks haven't changed...the motors have. What tbacon said below pretty much sums up why people have this opinion of Fords...

The 6.0 is a great motor...untouched. If you want to hot rod the piss out of it then you're gonna have to build it or the emissions crap will screw you every time. Pretty sure it's the same on Duramax and Cummins. The 6.4 was an attempt at something that just didn't pan out. The concept is great...the follow through not so much for the end user. The new motors are just plain badass...but wayyyy out of my price range to pick one up at this point.

I take it you bought a shitty truck. I'm sorry.